Edge of a broken heart
by LK Parks
Summary: When Nat finely had enough of nicks two timeing.
1. Chapter 1

We all know the drill. I don't own Forever Knight and am just borrowing the characters for a little while, and promise to put them back when I'm done. Well, maybe. Special thanks go out to Judy F(DanaKnight) for some wonderful ideas during& later on in this story, and for helping with the rewrite plus Beta reading and putting up with my very bad grammar, also to Judy's nurse friend for the help with the ER stuff, and Joy who gave me the kick in the a** for part seven, and for some editing (G) and some good lines when I revamped this story.

This Story was started many years ago, im putting it up on FFN with hopes of finding a new beta reader. With DanaKnight passing on when i was writing this, i've not felt like writing but i do want to finsh this story.

This can be archived at FK2 site, Mel's, FTP site and all (NN sites) Feedback is very much welcome at . So please be kind. If you don't see - the end - at the bottom of the story, you don't have it all

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Edge of a Broken Heart

LK Parks

* * *

Saturday night 10:30 PM Nat was pacing her apartment as Sydney watched her

from the couch in the living room. Nat had called, Nick three time's now and left messages with the answering machine, thinking back to Wednesday night flash back

Wednesday night at the morgue, Natalie had just finished her paper work

when Nick came in.

"Hi Nick give me a few minutes to put every thing away and then we can go."

"Um, Nat, listen that's why I came by, I have to cancel our date tonight. Something has come up that I need to take care of, OK. I'll make it up to you I promise."

"Ya sure thing Nick. I'll see you Saturday night then."

"OK Nat, I'll see you Saturday."

"You know Syd I'm tried of waiting. I'm going to go looking for him and get a

straight answer from him." Grabbing her keys and purse, Nat left the apartment.

When Nat arrived at the loft, Nat noticed Nick's car was not there so she headed

for the Raven.

As Nat drove by the Raven, she saw Nick's Caddy parked out front, and pulled into an empty parking space behind it. When Nat got inside, she was not prepared for what she saw, Nick and Janette locked in a lovers embrace on the dance floor swaying to the music. Janette looked up just in time to see the Good Doctor turning around and walking out the door. Ah, Nicholah, what will you do when you find out that your precise Natalie has just seen us together

As Nat ran out of the Raven, the sob she had choked down while inside came out, as she was no longer able to repress it. Tears ran down her face, her breathing ragged. She was angry and hurt by what she had just seen.

She didn't know what to do, so she took some deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Damn him for making me feel this way!"

TBC

As she walked past the Caddy, on her way to her car, she tried to think of some way to hurt Nick. As she passed the passenger door, she kicked the car, leaving a small dent, hurting her foot in the process.

"That no good son-of-a-bitch!" She exclaimed as she felt the pain in her foot. She knew that had he not angered and hurt her, she would not have kicked the door, and her foot would not be hurting.

Walking to her car's trunk, Nat pulled out her tire iron. She walked back to the Caddy, looked around to make sure no one was around and raised the tire iron. She started beating on the caddy.

She decided to start at the trunk and walked over to it. She brought the tire iron down, smashing the trunk. "That is for Wednesday night." She smashed the car again angrily telling it, "that is for Valentine's Night. I remember every hateful thing you said that night." She smashed it again with the tire iron as her rant continued, "this is for every time you have lied to me and ditched ME for HER." She smashed it again, imagining that it was Nick she was hitting.

By the time she had reached the front of the Caddy, it had started to rain lightly. Her hair was now wet and dripping from the rain. The rain and her tears mixed as both ran down her cheeks. She was so furious with him that if she had a stake, she would have plunged it into his heart.

Natalie brought the tire iron down on the hood, followed by smashing the headlights and the fender. She worked her way around to the passenger side of his car. She kicked the car again, as she was about to kick it again; she lost her footing and fell right onto her butt. For a moment, she just sat there, letting her tears flow. She was tired and out of breath from the heavy exertion, but felt a bit better, some of the anger having drained.

She pushed herself to her feet and limped back to the front of the car, where she once again hefted the tire iron. She smashed the front windshield. She walked to the driver's side and smashed the window the glass went flying. A piece hit her on the cheek, but she didn't' care.

She smiled wickedly as she looked at the top of the Caddy; it was a ragtop after all. She used the tire iron to destroy the ragtop, punching numerous holes in it. Holes that went clear through both sides of the ragtop.

She finally felt she was finished and took one last look at her handy work, smiling as she gave the car one last kick on her way back to her car.

She got in her car, "just wait until he sees this," running through her mind as she started the engine.

She had left the radio on and Vixens 'Edge of a Broken Heart' was playing as she pulled away from the Raven. She smiled and started singing along.

I can't believe I could have been so blind

But love is strange, and

I thought about it for a long

Long time but the truth remains

I don't need another lonely night

To dry my tears.

The answer is as plain as

Black and white

And now I can see the picture

Very clear...

I've been living on the edge of a broken heart

I don't wanna fall,don't wanna crawl

I've been living on the edge of a broken heart

Don't you wonder why, i've got to say good-bye?

Nat was thinking of all the times Nick had hurt her, and how fitting this

Song was to them. Well, no more, she was going to start living her life again.

It isn't like you had the chance to change you tune

Did ya think that I'm a dime a dance?

Well, the dance is through.

I've been doing things for way too long

Baby that's over, baby that's over,

It won't be easy but I've got to be strong

And if I want to cry, I don't need your shoulder

I've been living on the edge of a broken heart

I don't wanna to fall, I don't wanna crawl

I've been living on the edge of a broken hart

Don't you wonder why I've got to say good-bye?

When I go in Monday night, I'm not going to talk to him. I'm going to put in for a two week vacation and not tell him, or anyone else were I'm going. I need to start

living again and dating other people. That will piss him off. Let him see what it's like to be played the fool she thought to herself.

I'll find someone else who is nothing like you

Two can play the game as well

And your gonna be sorry baby when it's over...

I've been doing things for way too long

Baby that's over, baby that's over,

It won't be easy but I've got to be strong

And if I want to cry, I don't need your shoulder

I've been living on the edge of a broken heart

I don't wanna fall, I don't wanna crawl

I've been living on the edge of a broken heart

Don't you wonder why I've got to say good-bye?

I've been living on the edge of a broken heart...............

TBC

When Nat got home, her foot was still hurting her. She limped up the stairs to her apartment "Shit, I hope I did not break my foot kicking that stupid car. Damn him for everything he has put me through. I hope he like's the new look of his car." Grinning, Nat unlocked her door and went in, catching sight of her self in the hall mirror, "Lambert, you are a mess. I need a shower and some chocolate. That makes everything better. Don't I wish."? She grimaced and turned away.

Limping to the bedroom to get her PJs and then the bathroom, Nat noticed the blood on her face. As she was washing her face, she saw the small scratch that must have happened when she smashed the driver's window of the Caddy. "Well, it's not to bad. Make up will cover it up on Monday."

Stepping into the shower, being careful of her foot, Nat washed off that night's grime and muck, smiling as she remembered how good it felt to hit something, "too bad I didn't slash his tires also. Ah well, another time perhaps."

The hot water felt so good to her aching muscles. As she reached for the

Shampoo, that 80's song from the Weather Girls came to mind *I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair*.

When Nat was done with her shower and dressed in PJs, she got some ice for her foot and ice cream for herself.

Looking at her foot, she noticed that it was bruised but did not seem broken. If it still

bothered her later on tonight she would go to the ER and have it looked at,

maybe even have it x-rayed to make sure nothing was broken. Finishing her ice cream, she ace wrapped her foot and ankle, hating to have to sleep with it on. Nat thought, "I'll

just have to get up in a few hours and check my foot ."

Taking the couch pillows and propping her foot up with them her foot up, Nat fell asleep with the pleasant thoughts of how Nick was going to act when he saw his car. "How I wish I could be there to see his face, the bastard deserved it, and more. What else can I do to him?"

TBC

On the other side of town, at the raven about 4:00 am, Nick was saying good-bye to Janette as one of the younger vampires came in, went to the bar and spoke to the bartender to have the cops called because someone's car had been totally trashed out front.

In the meantime, Nick and Janette were walking out the door of the Raven. As they were walking towards his car Janette gasped, her eyes going wide. Nick turned look at what had made her gasp. Stopping dead in his tracks in front of his car, or what was left of his car. His jaw dropped and no sound was coming out. At first his color had dropped, then as his mind took in the full picture of what had happened to his car. And to make it even worse, the rain had ruined the leather seats, but the topper had to be the fact that they had even stolen the tires.

Nick went from pale to pink and he was pissed off. Who had did this to my beloved caddy? They are going to pay dearly *when* I catch them, not *if *, *when*. He was going to catch them come hell or high water. As Nick was looking over the damage, Schanke pulls up in his car. He got and walked up to Nick.

Looking at the caddy he commented "man o man Nick what happened to the caddy? Who did this?"

"I have no idea, Schanke, but I intend to find out."

"Nick, I hate to bust your bubble on this partner, remember this is not the greatest side of town. So, to try and find a witness to this will be very hard."

Nick is just about to snap at Schanke when a squad car shows up to take the report.

"Schanke how did you and precient find out that I was here?"

"Gee Nick, it's real simple, someone called it in. When the call came in on the radio, I had just gotten off shift, and was heading home when the plate number came over the radio."

"I see," was Nick's only reply.

"Hey, let me give ya a lift home. OK, Nick."

"Yeah Schanke, let me get this report done and you can take me home."

As nick walked over to the uniformed officer, Schanke saw Janette standing there walked up to her.

"Hey Janet, how's it going?"

"It's Janette. And it was going good, Mr. Schanke."

"That's good to hear. Wow. I can't believe what happened to the Caddy. Man o man, I feel sorry for the persons who did this."

"So do I. Mr. Schanke, so do I."

"I mean this is worse then what I did to it not too long ago but that's because the killer cut the brake lines and I didn't know until I hit a hill. This, This was deliberately done. Man o man, who did Nick piss off this time for them to do this?

"I have no idea Mr. Schanke, no idea at all." "hmm, maybe I have underestimated the Good Doctor. Which ever it's, an improvement. Maybe Nicholah will finally get with the times and get a newer car."

"Schanke," Nick called out

"Well here comes Nick. Nice seeing you again, Janet. Catch ya around."

"Its Janette. And I cannot say it was a pleasure. Good-bye. Nicholah, I will see you soon,"

"Good-bye, Janette. Kissing her hand. "I'll see you in a few days."

TBC

Nat's apartment was quiet as Nat lay on the couch sleeping. Sydney lay on her chest looking at her foot. He was in pounce mode so when Nat moved her foot abit in her sleep and that was all he need to pounce, thinking as only a cat does, he grabbed hold of her big toe and bit down.

Nat woke from her dream of smashing Nicks caddy when a sharp pain caused her foot to jerk her foot, sending Sydney flying with a yowl. He landed on his feet and turned to growl at her for taking away his toy for the moment.

"Ouch, that hurt! Bad Sydney, bad kitty." Looking over at the clock on the wall it was five thirty three am and the sun would be up in a few min. She stretched her back and legs, smiled to her self. She hadn't felt this good in long time. A feeling of satisfaction had spread over her. Sighing, she bent down to remove the ace bandage and take another look at her foot.

The swelling had gone down and now it just throbbed. The bruising didn't look too bad either, but her big toe was killing her. Sydney had pierced the skin and it looked like a little vampire had bit her. "How the hell am I supposed to work like this tonight?"

(She muttered to herself.)

The bruise was bad enough, but now on top of a cat bite, she would have to wear pants and her black sneakers for a week or so until the bruising was gone and the cat bite to

heal. She could live with that.

" Well Sydney, what to do today? Hmm, I'll get some spray paint to keep in the car so next time I see the caddy I can give it a nice new paint job," she said with a chuckle.

Then Nat had a wicked thought, "I know what I can do to give myself something nice, plus help out the office gossip and make sure it's known that Nick did not send them to me. Now where is it?" She rummaged around in her desk drawer until she found what she was looking for, the business card to the florist shop owned by her High School friend, and the Capital one Visa card that she never had it actived because it had Natasha instead of Natalie on it. She called the 800 number activating the card. Now all Nat could do now was wait until business hours.

Later that morning, Nat made the call to her friend requesting two dozen red roses to be delivered at the morgue with the card signed from a secret admirer as well two dozen rose buds. The rose stems with their big thorns were to be sent to the Raven, Janette, with no card to help her figure it out!

As She and Beth talked, she asked Beth not to tell anyone who asked who sent the stems to the Raven. And if she had no choice, to tell them it was a man who placed the order and she did not want her friend to get into trouble. Beth understood, having had to do this from time to time. Having hung up the phone after taking care of business, Nat limped to her bedroom to get some more sleep. She was going to need it because it was going to be a long night for her.

TBC

At the Loft, Nick was pacing and drinking bottle after bottle of blood, trying to figure out who would do this to him, to his car, as he was pacing he saw the answering machine blinking. He walked over to the answering machine and pushed play.

Nat's voice comes over the speaker.

"Nick, its Nat. It's 7:30 PM and I'm waiting at home for you to show up. If you're there, pick up please... OK, maybe you're on your way here. Hope to see you in few Bye."

Message Two:

"Nick, its Nat again. It is now a quarter till 9. Where are you? Are you OK?

If you're there, please pick up. Nick?"

Message Three:

"Nick, its Nat again. It's the Hell are you? Remember, we had plans to be together tonight, to makeup for Wednesday night!"

"Oh Hell, if you're home moping again, I'm going to go get something to eat. I'll be home in an hour or so. Call me. If you forgot the number, it's 555-…. oh never mind, you know the number with that perfect memory you have (yeah right, perfect memory my ass, can't remember we had plans tonight.")

Nick heard her say as she was hanging up the phone. Nick shook his head talking to the machine, " I'll make it up to you tonight, Nat. You also forgot to mention my perfect hearing, Nat I heard that!" Putting the bottle away, Nick headed up to bed. He was going to need all the sleep he could get as it was going to be a long night.

TBC

It was Sunday night, and Nat had been awake for almost an hour now, laying in bed thinking about how she was going to explain away her limping, if it was noticed by her coworkers.

As Nat limped in to work that night, she heard voices inside Grace's office, talking. What caught her attention was the discussion of Nick's car. Unable to resist, Nat stopped to listen. She noticed that it was Schanke, and Grace. As Schanke was telling Grace the part about the damage, he saw Nat out of the corner of his eye. Turning towards her, he smiled.

Nat looked at him, and asked him to fill her in. As Nat hobbled into the room, Grace and Schanke both noticed her limping. They spoke over each other in their rush to ask why, and how, she got hurt. As Nat sat down, she knew she would not get out of this unless she kept it simple.

"Well, it's simple, really. I caught my foot on the coffee table while rushing to get to the phone, and banged it. Later on, while sleeping it wrapped in an ace bandage, Sydney thought my big toe was a toy. He jumped on it and bit me. I'm okay, just a little sore.

I'll live, and be fine in a week or so. Now, tell me about Nick's car."

Schanke proceeded to update Nat with everything that had happened that morning. All the while, Nat kept her face neutral.

"Well ladies, duty calls, and I have to get back to work. Oh, Nat, Myra wanted me to tell you, her cousin is staying with us for a few weeks before he moves here. She gave me this to show you." Reaching into his jacket, pulling out an envelope. "Here's a picture, taken just a few days ago." Showing it to Nat, he pointed to the young man smiling from the Kodak "You two have a lot in common, he's an undertaker and you're a coroner. Well, she wanted me to ask if you could meet him, and show him around?"

Nat took the picture and looked at it. Damn, he is good looking. Well, what the hell. She took a deep breath, then asked, "does he have a name?"

Schanke looked hopeful. "Yeah, his name is Steve Addams."

Nat looked from the picture, back to Schanke, and back once again.

She couldn't help the comment that came next. "Is he, by chance, related to the TV show the 'Addams family'?"

Schanke looked at Nat, then smiled. "Nah, but close. His family could have been a role model for the script writers."

Smiling evilly , Nat told Schanke, "I'll meet him. Have him here at about 1 o'clock, that's when I go on lunch."

Schanek looked a bit pale. "But, Nat, that's..."

Nat cut him off. "It's my way, or no way, Schanke. Remember Roger? Well, I do not want another repeat. You're coming with us, so bring your appetite." This is too good. That should be when Nick shows up. Well, I'll show him. How do you like me now, Nick? Hmmm, this should be fun!

"See you around one o'clock, Schanke. I've got work to do. Later!" She turned to the paperwork on her desk. "Any new customers, Grace"?

Grace looked at Nat. "Do you think you should work with your foot the way it is tonight? If you're determined to work, there's one customer left from day shift. Hopefully, it will be a quiet night. So, what made you decide to meet this Steve?"

Nat stared at Grace, wondering how much to tell her. Taking a breath, she responded. "No reason. He is good looking, and I need someone new in my life. Now, I need to get working if I want to be finished by one."

TBC

Around 12:30, Grace came in to see how Nat was coming along on her customer.

"Hey girl, it's almost time for lunch. You might want to start getting things together."

"Is it that time that time already? Wow, time sure does go fast when you're having fun slicing and dicing. Well, I'm done here with everything but the paperwork and that won't take long to do. I'll get cleaned up and do that till Schanke gets here."

"What about you, have you gotten everything done?"

"Yes, I did. I'm looking forward to this lunch. You think we can squeeze an extra hour if all goes well?"

Nat laughed at Grace "We'll see how the first hour goes, then take it from there. He may be too tired to show up, but it's a possibility, and if everything goes well from there. In addition, no new customers, we may even be able to book off early.

Forty-five minutes later Nat finished her report. Schanke knocked on the door, looking in the room, smiling at Nat.

"Come in Schanke. I don't know about you, but I'm starving"

"Hey Nat, yeah we're both very hungry. However, when am I not hungry? Steve is with Grace right now being interrogated. I was with him for the first fifteen minutes, and I gotta tell ya she is ruthless, man o man we need to bring her in during interrogations, she's a born natural. And I thought Nick was bad enough. Hell, she was scaring me there for a minute. I don't even want to think about what Steve is going through as we speak. And speaking of Steve, one other thing you both have in common is you two are both night owls!"

"Well, since you brought it up, that Steve is with Grace and being interrogated, don't you think we should rescue him?"

Smiling, Nat grabbed her purse and keys and walked towards the door with Schanke in tow.

"Ya know Nat, that new pancake house that opened few weeks ago is 24 hours.

I heard they have really good breakfast food, so I thought we might eat there tonight, if that's okay with you and Grace?"

"You know, Schanke, that sounds like a really good idea. I have yet to eat there, so it will give me a chance to try it."

As Nat and Schanke left her office, Nick was being dropped off outside by a squad car. Upon seeing Sckanke car, he waved the squad car on. Walking the rest of the way, Nick was thinking of what to tell Nat about why he didn't see her on Saturday.

Nat and Schanke reached Grace's office just as she finished the interrogation on Steve. They looked up as Schanke and Nat walked in. Grace told Steve about Nat's accident with the coffee table and cat bite, so he knew she would be limping.

Schanke made the introductions, as Nat went to shake hands. Steve took her hand giving it a gentle kiss, smiling at her, they left the building.

TBC

Walking down the stairs, Steve was giving Nat a hand by letting her use him as a crutch. When they got to the bottom, he put arm around her to steady her as they started walking to the car.

From the shadows, Nick watched Nat walk out of the morgue with a guy holding her. Walking up to them, Nick heard Nat cry out in pain after moving her foot the wrong way. When Nick heard that, he was on the guy, shoving Nat out of the way. Nat was not ready for the loss of support and was caught off balance. She fell into the car hurting her ankle more in the process, as well as feeling something go 'pop' in her back. She looked up just in time to see Nick grab Steve, as he got ready to hit Steve. Nat pushed off from the car and hobbled over to where the two so called grown men were standing, just a few feet from her. Nick didn't see Nat approach him as he pulled his fist back, and accidentally hit her in the mouth.

Steve saw Nick hit Nat, grabbed him by the lapels of his coat and flipped him onto the hood of the car.

By this time, Schanke and Grace had come down the stairs to see what the trouble was. Schanke had his gun drawn, just in case, and shouted, "Freeze!" He didn't know who was fighting. As soon as he saw who it was he put away his gun. He looked back and forth between his two friends. Looking from Steve to Nick, Schanke saw Nick pinned to the hood of the car, surprising him.

Steve looked at Schanke and asked, "you know this guy?"

"Yeah, I do. He's my partner."

"Well, your fucking partner shoved Natalie into the car, and then tried to take a swing at me, but wound up hitting Natalie instead!"

Schanke looked at Nick and asked, "what the hell are you doing"?

Steve released Nick and walked over to where Nat sat, bending down to look at her. He noticed her ankle was bent in an awkward position and her lower lip was bleeding.

As Schanke was talking to Nick, Steve asked Nat if she was all right, even though he already knew the answer. Nat was looking at her hands, which had some blood on them, and said, barely above a whisper, "I can't believe he hit me." She repeated herself. Nick heard every word loud and clear, and it hurt like a stake through the heart.

Grace came over to where Nat and Steve were. She looked from Nat to Steve, then bent down by Nat to get a better look at her. Steve looked from Grace to Nat, then picked Nat up. A small whimper escaped Nat as he picked her up. He carried her to the car, where Grace opened the door for them. After he got Nat into the backseat of the car, Steve walked around the car to open the other door for Grace to get in next to Nat.

Steve walked over to where Schanke and Nick were talking, throwing Nick a dirty look as he informed Schanke that they were off to the ER. Schanke followed Steve back to his car. Steve got in the passenger side, as Schanke got behind the wheel.

As Nick watched Schanke's car pull away, blood tears fell down his cheek.

TBC

It was around 2 am when Schanke's car pulled up to the ER door. Nat had been arguing with Schanke, Grace, and Steve that she was fine and did not need to go to the hospital.

Steve got out, opening the door for Grace, then walked over to Nat's side, opening the door and bending down. Nat looked at him shaking her head no. She was not getting out of the car. Steve looking thoughtful decided on a different approach.

"Tell you what Natalie, I'll make a deal with you, OK? We know you don't like hospitals or other doctors poking you, right?"

"Steve, listen."

"No, hear me out, OK? You're making the old saying very true right now, that doctors are the worst patients. Therefore, the deal is this, if you can get out of this car,

Stand on your own two feet, with a little weight off your hurt foot and walk five feet, we will leave here and go have breakfast. Then take you back to work. Is it a deal?"

Nat looked to Steve, then to Grace. Schanke just stood their mouth opening and closing, knowing Nat was hurt bad, but could not believe what he heard come out of Steve's mouth.

As Grace and Schanke started to talk at once, Nat looked at Steve, nodding as she said, "Fine, I agree."

Taking a deep breath, she put her right foot out; a low moan escaped her mouth. Steve's eyebrow went up, but he just stood there holding the door for Nat.

Nat stood up, and tried to ignore the pain in her lower back. As she took a step, her leg gave out on her, causing her to fall. Steve caught Nat before she could hit the pavement.

"Well, I guess I lost the bet, huh."

"Not really, you still get breakfast when we leave here."

Nat put her arms around Steve's neck, grimacing as the pain hit her again. Steve carried Nat though the doors of the ER.

Grace and Schanke looked at each other, smiled knowingly. Grace followed them in, as Schanke went to go park the car.

From the shadows, Nick had watched and heard everything. A feeling of guilt went through him knowing he had caused this much pain to Nat.

TBC

As Steve carried Nat up to the front desk, the nurse who had been outside on a break had seen Nat nearly fall getting out of the car and had a wheelchair by the door for them. Steve carried Nat to the waiting wheelchair and set her down in it as gently as he could. He could see how much that action hurt her and vowed that Nick would never hurt her again. The nurse handed Natalie the paperwork, then pushed her inside. Natalie worked on the paperwork.

Once finished, Natalie was pushed to an examination room where she was lifted out of the wheelchair and placed on the bed by an orderly. The nurse looked over Natalie's paperwork as she told Nat that the doctor would be right with her. She put two pillows under Natalie's injured ankle to elevate it and help keep the swelling down. She set the ice pack on Natalie's sore ankle, causing her patient to wince as the ice pack touched her, but the cold felt good almost immediately.

Ten minutes later, the doctor entered and introduced himself as Dr. John Black. After he looked over Natalie's paperwork, he started his examination, starting with her split lip. He cleaned it and when he realized it would need suturing he had her hold a gauze pad against it to stop the bleeding.

The doctor examined her back. Natalie winced as he approached the sore spot, hitting the ceiling when he probed it. He continued to work his way down her body. He examined her legs, testing her reflexes.

When he came to her feet, he noticed the ice pack over one ankle and gently lifted it to check out the injury and set it down on the edge of the pillows. He gently probed her cold ankle, causing her to wince and when he touched the sorest spots she hit the ceiling.

"Can you move it? Put any weight on it?"

Natalie slowly, painfully, moved her injured ankle up and down a little.

"I can barely put any weight on it," she said, hoping it wasn't broken. She knew that a broken ankle, cast and crutches were the last things she needed right now.

She was not in the mood to deal with it, let alone think about that possibility. Especially since the first snow of the season was due any time now. She knew how horrible it was to be on crutches in snow and especially on the ice. And if her back was going to continue to act up, being on crutches with a broken ankle was the very last thing she needed. She didn't even let herself think of the possibility of a serious back injury as that was more than she could handle right now.

"Natalie, I'm sending you down for some x-rays on your back and ankle. It won't take long. I'm going to put three or four stitches on the inside of your mouth and one or two steri strips on your bottom lip.

Natalie reminded herself that the steri-strips would help minimize the scarring, as would the stitches on the inside of her mouth, even though they would be quite annoying.

"When the x-rays come back we'll know what's wrong with your back and ankle."

The doctor looked over at Steve, "you can wait out in the waiting area. We'll let you know when she's released or has been admitted."

When the orderly took Nat down for the x-rays, Steve went out to wait with Schanke and Grace. Schanke started his version of twenty questions as soon as he saw Steve.

"How is she? Will she be okay? What's going on? Will she be admitted?"

Steve held up his hands to stop the barrage of questions. He filled Schanke and Grace in on what little he'd learned, and told them all they could do now was wait. Once the x-rays came back the doctor would have a better idea what the problems were.

Nick was at the nurse's station inquiring about Natalie, and had heard everything Steve told Schanke and Grace. The guilt mounted as he realized just how badly she might be hurt.

TBC

After Steve had filled in Schanke and Grace, he offered to get some coffee from the machine. Turning around, Steve saw Nick talking to the nurse. Steve walked over to where Nick was standing, sized him up, then shoved him away from the nurse's station.

Keeping his voice normal, Steve informed Nick that he was not wanted or welcome there. Schanke looked over to where Nick and Steve were, seeing them facing off. He knew he had to get there before there was trouble. He arrived as Steve told Nick to leave.

"Steve, I'll handle this. Go on back and wait with Grace. He's my partner. I'll talk to him, all right?"

Steve just looked at Nick, then back at Schanke, "Yeah, Donny, I think you had better have a nice long talk with him."

Steve walked back over to where Grace sat. Grace was watching the two detectives.

Schanke looked at Nick, shaking his head, then proceeded to question him.

"Nick, what the hell is going on with you? First, you start a fight with Steve outside the morgue over who knows what. Second, you come in here after what you did to Nat, for what? Did it happen like Steve and Grace said it did? What did you expect to get? An apology? From whom? You know Nat's hurting physically and emotionally."

Nick cut Schanke off.

"I didn't start the fight with Steve. Nat was with him and I heard her call out in pain. I thought he might've hurt her. When I went to check it out, Steve attacked me. I would never hurt Nat, you know that. I had no idea she was behind me. You have no idea how bad I feel about that. I came by to see how she was. And if there was anything I could do to help."

Schanke knew Nick would die before he let anyone, himself included, hurt Natalie. Yet something about this still bothered him. He studied his partner, wondering exactly what happened. He knew he'd only get part of the story from each of his male friends, and part of the story from Natalie. Somehow, he'd have to piece together as much of the truth as he could from the three versions. He had trouble believing either of his friends had started the fight. He knew that it took two people to fight. The thing that troubled him the most was what had not been said by either man.

"Nick, I can't believe Steve started the fight. I mean, it's not like him to do that." Nick shot Schanke an accusing glare. "I'm not saying you started it either. I think it probably was a misunderstanding between both of you. And neither of you were apparently using your heads," Schanke said with a sigh. "Nick, didn't it dawn on you that maybe Nat was already hurt and Steve was her crutch? I've known the man for over ten years now. Plus, how did Nat wind up being shoved into a car? I'm going to talk to Nat and get her side of the story. My advice would be for you not to be here when she's released."

Nick gave Schanke a hurt and annoyed look as he turned and walked out of the hospital, into the night.

Schanke walked back to where Steve and Grace were sitting. Steve looked up and saw Schanke.

Taking a deep breath, Steve said, "Donny, I'm sorry about this. I'm sorry I lost my temper earlier. I know I should not have. And that I should not have flipped him onto the car, but when I saw him shove Natalie into that car... it was Mom and Dad all over again. I couldn't let him hurt her."

Schanke just looked at Steve, realizing Nick had been right. That he hadn't listened to his partner due to his friendship with Steve. This wasn't the first it had happened either. Nick had every right to be hurt and mad at him. He knew he'd have to apologize to Nick later. Schanke also remembered when Myra told him about Steve's parents and how Steve's mom was nearly beaten to death by his father. Schanke wondered if this might've caused Steve to overreact slightly.

"I know, Steve. Right now, let's just wait and see how Nat's doing. We can talk later."

Steve just nodded.

TBC

Back in the ER, Natalie had been returned to her treatment room after the x-rays had been taken. Her injured ankle was propped back up on the pillow, to help keep the swelling down. The nurse could see how much pain Natalie was in and prepared an injection. The other nurse helped Natalie turn over enough for the injection of Demerol into her buttock. Natalie was not happy about that, but at this point was desperate enough to do just about anything to ease her pain. Once the injection had been given, the other helped her back to her former position.

"Natalie, for the record I have to know how you received your injuries, as well if there will be a police report made. This is standard procedure in domestic abuse," Dr. Black said.

Nat's jaw dropped making her spit lip hurt more, as she heard the doctor's suspicions. She couldn't believe the doctor thought she was a victim of domestic abuse. She knew she had to explain things before it got out of control and either of the guys, if not both, were arrested for it.

"It's not what you think. I got hurt breaking up a fight between the guy who brought me in and another friend," Natalie said.

The doctor just looked at her. He'd heard so many variations on the story he'd lost count. He had talked with Natalie a bit and thought she didn't fit the pattern, then he remembered there really was no one kind of person who was abused, and that it crossed all lines, money, skin color, education, age, and religion.

Natalie noticed his expression, and that he tried to keep his face neutral.

"I know all about the results of domestic abuse," Nat said getting a little cranky. She winced as she accidentally aggravated her split lip. At the surprised look from the doctor, she continued. "In case you missed it in the paperwork, I'm a forensic pathologist for the Coroner's Office. There's no reason to fill out police report as I should not have gotten in between my two friends letting their testosterone get the better of them." She chuckled, which quickly became a wince. "I should've just let them settle it and be done with it."

The doctor chuckled. "I don't see anyone abusing you and not getting at least as hurt, if not worse." He was glad she was a doctor as it would make it easier to explain the few things he'd have to. He knew she'd know most of it, but might need a little refreshing as her patients were of the dead variety.

Natalie tried to grin, but the pain from her split lip stopped her. "Thanks... I think. What's your plan?"

"I called plastics while you were out and someone will be down to suture your lip. It's routine when my patient's a doctor. But I'll go ahead and numb it while we wait for the surgeon and the x-rays. I'm going to give you a nerve block to numb the area."

He prepared the injection then pulled her hand away from her lip. She'd been pressing a now blood soaked gauze pad against her split lip to stop the bleeding and it had stopped. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the long needle. He dabbed a little Orajel onto the injection site before he inserted a long needle in the back of her jaw, and injected the anesthetic. The nerve block would numb her chin, lips and cheeks, this way Natalie wouldn't feel anything when he sutured her lip. The nurse set the suture kit on the metal tray and opened it. He changed his gloves and was ready for the plastic surgeon's arrival.

"Let me know if you feel any pain."

Natalie nodded, her eyes still closed, as she had trouble speaking with her the numbness of her chin lips and cheek. The plastic surgeon entered and gloved up. Dr. Black moved out of the way to allow the surgeon full access to the patient. Natalie kept her eyes closed, not wanting to watch. The surgeon picked up a very fine thread, thinner than a single thread of dental floss and started his suturing. By the time he was finished he'd put in three layers of sutures, one on each side and one in the middle.

She knew that the swelling of her injured ankle would only go down as her ankle healed. and that keeping it elevated along with applying ice to it every so often would help keep the swelling from getting too bad. That the swelling was nature's way of both aiding and hindering the healing.

The plastic surgeon said, "all done. Try not to rub or scratch the sutures, either with your tongue or fingers, and be a little careful when you eat. Also, keep it clean. After brushing your teeth, I'd suggest a saline gargle."

He knew it was only human nature to absent mindedly run the tongue over the sutures, partly to see what they felt like and partly as something to do. "If it hurts, try a little Orajel."

The x-rays were delivered and stuck into the lightbox. Dr. Black studied them, quickly seeing what the problems were. Natalie studied them from her seat on the exam table, not having quite as good a view.

"Dr. Lambert, as you probably noticed, there's no sign of a fracture either in your back or your ankle. I would say your ankle has a severe sprain. The reason your back hurts is that you have two slipped disks, T-12 and L-1. There's not much we can do here other than give you a muscle relaxant. About the only other thing we could do would be to put you in traction to stretch out your spine, but I'm not sure it would do that much good. I would suggest you see a physical therapist."

Natalie did not want to even consider it. "I think we'll stick with the muscle relaxant. Will you arrange the first PT session?"

He chuckled as she said that a little too quickly and a little too emphatically. "Sure. You will need to follow up with orthopedics, though."

TBC

After Nick had left the hospital, thinking of all that had gone wrong tonight.

Flying towards the Raven, Nick landed in the alley.

As he walked into the Raven, Nick noticed the young fledgelings off to one side. They looked very scared and quickly glanced at Nick as he passed by.

Walking up to the bar, Nick took in the disarray of the place and looked to Miklos who was cleaning up the broken glass. Nick spread his hands asking what happened.

"Who did all this damage? Where is Janette? Is she all right?"

Miklos looked at Nick, thinking before answering him.

"Well, earlier this evening Janette received a delivery from an out of town florist. She looked for a card, not finding one, she thought they were from you."

Miklos poured Nick a glass of bovine as he continued, "She opened the box thinking she'd been given roses. Instead, she found two dozen long stemmed rose thorns. Needless to say, she was NOT very happy." He waved his hand across the bar, indicating the disaster area it now was. "And you're seeing the aftermath of her displeasure. If you wish to try and talk to her she's upstairs, in her private room. I doubt she'll see you."

Nick sat taking in everything Miklos had said as he finished his glass, murmuring to himself,

"what else could go wrong tonight"

Miklos heard Nick and said, "be careful what you ask for, you might not like the answer."

TBC

The doctor pushed Natalie's pants up to her knee so he had room to work on her injured ankle. The nurse set up what he'd need. She saw the plaster and the ace bandages, and knew she'd be in that either a couple days or a week or two.

"I'm going to make you a splint for a couple days while the swelling goes down some, then I'll probably cast it for a couple weeks to give it a chance to fully heal."

"Will I have to use crutches the whole time?" She was torn between hoping not and hoping so. She hated crutches, especially in the winter, but knew she'd need them at least until she could put more weight onto her ankle.

"I want to you to keep all your weight off your ankle until you get your cast. Then we'll reevaluate things."

He draped a cloth over her other pants leg so he wouldn't get plaster all over it. He wrapped her ankle with padding then wet the plaster slab and applied it to the bottom of her foot and ran it up the back of her calf about halfway. One nurse held up her leg so the doctor could work. As he held the wet slab in place, another nurse wrapped the ace bandage around it, making sure it was tight enough to do it's job but not tight enough to cut off her circulation.

"I need you to keep your foot in this position until the plaster sets. You'll know when it has. It will heat up as it sets."

Natalie nodded. The doctor rested her now splinted ankle back onto the pillows, but this time they had a plastic sheet over them to protect them. He tested her toenails to make sure the circulation was fine and left. The nurses cleaned up the mess and then left as well. Natalie was bored as she was there alone. She was still in pain but it wasn't quite as bad as before.

About ten minutes later the nurse came in and gave Natalie a magazine.

"It's old, but I thought you might like something to read while waiting for the plaster to dry."

"Thanks," Natalie said as she took the magazine from the nurse. She even managed a small smile for her.

About half an hour later she felt the plaster getting warmer. With each passing minute it grew a little warmer. Natalie soon realized that the warmth felt good in the cool room. Her stomach started growling.

By the time the doctor returned half an hour later, Natalie had finished the magazine. She was tired, sore, hungry and just wanted to get the hell out of there. All she wanted was to further ease her pain. She was getting tired.

The doctor checked Natalie's toenails again and checked on the status of the splint. It was harder, almost ready.

"Remember, no nail polish on these nails for the next several weeks. In a few minutes the nurse will set you up with some crutches as well as the paperwork for your first PT appointment. Next time..." he grinned.

"I'll either stay out of it or remember to duck," she said with a grin.

A few minutes later the nurse entered with a pair of crutches and instructed Natalie on how to use them. She helped Natalie stand and get them in place. When Natalie could crutch up and down the hallway outside the treatment rooms without a problem the nurse pushed a wheelchair over to Natalie and set the brakes. She helped Natalie into it, and elevated the footrest under her splinted ankle. The nurse took Natalie's crutches and handed her the clipboard containing the release paperwork. Natalie signed everywhere she was supposed to. The nurse traded her the crutches for the paperwork. Natalie held onto her crutches as she was pushed out to her waiting friends. Natalie knew that had her back not been hurting, she would've insisted on crutching, instead of being pushed.

Natalie's friends were pleased to see her come out, and she looked better than they expected. They all approached and started asking questions, at the same time. She held up her hand to silence them. The nurse saw that her patient was in good hands and went back to her other patients.

"I'm fine. What I'd really like to do now is to get the hell out of here. If I remember correctly, I was promised breakfast, and I intend to collect on it! I will fill you all in as we eat okay?" Her stomach growled again.

Schanke left to get the car as Grace pushed Nat out the door's of the ER.

TBC

need's betaing here down…………………………………………………………………...

A week and a half had gone by since Nat and Steve had met. Steve had been coming by everynight the last week. Now she was getting ready to go out to dinner

when the phone rang letting the answer machine pick up, Nat froze when she heard the voice come over the speaker.

"Nat, it's Nick if your home please pick up..... I know I'm the last person you may want to talk to right now. I wanted to say I was sorry about Sunday night......... Nat if your there pick up please"...........

Nat stood there looking at the machine about to pick up when a knock sounded on the door. Jumping at the sound Nat walked over and looked through the peep hole seeing it was Steve, opening the door Steve smiled at Nat. Walking in Steve held out a dozen red roses, when Nat took the roses from Steve he noticed she was shaking and a little pale. As Nat went to put the roses in water, Steve had a feeling of being watched lost in his thoughts he didn't hear Nat talking to him till she waved her hand in front of his face.

"I'm sorry Nat I zoned there for a minute. It's been a long day, what were you saying?"

Nat smiling repeating herself

"I said there beautiful, and I like them very much. What were you just thinking about that had you zoned out?"

Smiling at Nat Steve picking up her coat

"This is going to sound weird" chuckling nervously "I had a strange feeling of being watched, but its gone now. And I don't know about you but I'm starving, ready to get something to eat and have some fun tonight?"

After getting her coat on gabbing her purse, keys

"You bet I am! I've been kept in this apartment a week to long. I'm also looking forward to Schankes Halloween party tomorrow night. He said something interesting to me on the phone, that your playing a special part tomorrow night? May I ask what part your playing?

Steve smiling answered

"Storytelling."

at Nat's raised eyebrow he continued

"I have a talent you could say for telling Ghost stories, and that's all I'm going to say about it tonight. You will just have to hear for yourself tomorrow night

As they left Nat's apartment, neither noticed the figure hovering outside her balcony in the shadows holding a cell phone.

TBC

The next evening at Schanke's Halloween party, everyone was having a great time.

As the children were coming back inside, Schanke gathered everyone into the front room for Storytelling time to bring the evening to a close. Schanke began to introduced Steve.

"Everyone I would like to meet Steve. He is Myra's cousin from the States and has volunteered to be our Storyteller tonight. (around of applause from the room) The floor is yours Steve."

Walking to the front of the room, Steve took a deep breath and began.

"Good evening everyone, the story I will tell you tonight happened 15 years ago on Halloween night. It's a lesson me and a few friends learned the hardway when you decide to play with an Ouija board, so if you decide to every get an Ouija board please

take heed to these rules that I'm going to give you

• Two or more people are recommended for using the Ouija; more than three can be too crowded.

• Form a circle around the board with all participating members.

• Link hands, left on top of right.

• Say any prayers that you wish.

• Have someone standing by with a pen and paper to write everything down.

• Ask questions such as, "Would anyone like to come forth and talk?"

• Make sure only one person asks questions at a time, which avoids confusion.

• Never ask for anything you do not wish to deal with.

• If the board does not work, try swapping participants around.

• The planchette should start by spinning in circles. Some say that this is the spirit trying to gain energy to communicate.

• If you do not understand what the spirit is trying to communicate, ask it to either repeat it or ask questions that will clearly define what you would like to know.

• If a spirit appears to be having trouble communicating, ask what you can do to improve the communication.

• If a spirit points to "Good-bye," let it go.

• If you want to finish the séance, place the planchette on "Good-bye" and say that you are now leaving. Everyone should then remove their hands from the board and the table. The board will be closed.

"Now I'm taking a big risk telling you this story, because I'm sworn to secrecy. What I'm about to relate here really happened. I was there. I saw it. And I curse the night I did. I was the last one to pile into the convertible. Seven of us drove to the outskirts of town and parked in front of the Hailston house.

We were just a bunch of guys out to have some fun, and this time around, we decided to dare fate and fool around with an Ouija board in the middle of a bona fide haunted house. It looked exactly like one of those creepy old Hollywood haunted houses. Everything was draped in dusty white sheets.

And the place reeked with a strange musty smell. As the sun died over the hills and the room became even more shadowy, we lit eight white candles and set them around us. Then we placed our fingers on the planchette and asked it our first question.

The owner had bludgeoned his wife to death in this house many years before -- including his mother and three small children. Then he shot himself through the head with a . 38 special. Our question was: Were any of the murdered spirits still wandering the premises? The planchette moved effortlessly to the word "Yes." "Is there really a devil?" The wooden piece moved up to the word "Yes" again, stopped, and then made a lazy circuit around the board, right back to the "Yes" position.

As we each asked a question in turn, our dispositions changed drastically. There was no more giggling or good-natured teasing. The room temperature dipped lower, and our faces turned waxen and cadaverous in the flicking candlelight. Even our voices seemed to grow somber and low-pitched. I was too scared to sit and too scared to run for the door. It came my turn to ask a question. "Are we the children of the damned?" I asked, utterly surprised that I'd asked such a stupid, unearthly question, and quite removed from the person who asked it.

The answer came quickly, as the planchette spelled out: "Y-o-u ... a-r-e... m-i-n-e!" The next message drained the blood from our faces: "T-u-r-n... a-r-o-u-n-d... "

I took a big gulp and slowly twisted my head as far around as possible. I can hardly describe what faced us.

Poised behind our backs was a cordon of ghastly black entities, each leering at us with the contorted faces of the damned. A feeling of hysteria snapped through my body. We were standing in the presence of the angles of hell, and we couldn't escape.

There is simply no adequate way to portray the power and the darkness that defined these beings. Only to say that I stood transfixed staring at them, and that they appeared to be like men, each cloaked in the garb of eternal horror and misery. I nearly fainted.

Somebody screamed, but it did little good. We'd unlocked the doors to hell, and now we were going to pay for it. With our lives.

Out of the middle of this assemblage walked an entity of exquisitely grotesque and majestic carriage. His entourage made way for him, and he stood before us, arrayed in a garment that scintillated and sparkled in the darkness.

For a long unspeakable moment, it raised its ugly head and leered at us with cold, ancient eyes and then pointed a gnarled finger at the Ouija board.

I'm not at liberty to repeat its message. Nor would I divulge what it said to us, considering how vile and horrid it was. All I will say is that we were in the presence of absolute, brilliant evil, and that when we tampered with the darkness, we belonged to him.

Then they left. One by one.

To this day my friends -- or what's left of our little group -- haven't discussed the experience with anybody. Most of that comes from pure fear that if we do, we'll be visited again by you-know-who. Three of the guys wound up in asylums later on in their lives.

The rest of us have keep our mouths shut.

That is till tonight.............

TBC

Halloween Night at the Schanks cont....

Steve standing in the middle of the front room started his next story.

"Now the next story I'm about to tell you happened a few years later,

One night John, Mary, Jason, Mrya, and I were out one night and Mary told us that she owns an Ouija board and that her place had a ghost in it. Since we were bored and had nothing else to do, we all decided to play for fun.

At first everything was normal and nothing happened. We then contacted a spirit named "Joy," she seemed to be friendly. She told us that she was the one that was living with Mary and her family. As we progressed on, she wanted us to remove our jewelry. Thinking nothing of it, we all did. Then she asked for more hands to be placed on the Ouija. She kept saying that she wanted us to get in touch with a friend of ours who is into black magic (he was needed to help set her free).

As time progressed on, I noticed that my right arm started going numb and something was pulling my hand off the pointer and towards my friend. I mentioned this to the others and Mary said that her fingertips felt like they were burning and John said his fingertips were numb also. We asked the spirit if she was alone and she replied "NO!"

We asked her who was with her and she started to spell "D E" and I got really scared and said "Oh God" and the pointer went straight to "NO." We then found out that the spirit had a demon with her. Mary demanded it to leave, but it wouldn't.

Suddenly my right leg was shaking out of control and I couldn't stop it. Mary said put your fingers on the pointer and the moment I did I started shaking even more. My breathing became erratic and the pointer was spinning. I managed to tell the others "I'm losing control!" Mary said "take your fingers off!" I said "I cant!" My fingers felt as if they were glued to the pointer and then I felt like I was going to pass out. The last thing I saw was Jason grabbing my hands and pulling them off the pointer.

After a few minutes of catching my breath (I didn't pass out but was close to it) I got up to leave the room. The next thing I felt was this powerful force pushing me and I fell on the heater (the kind that looks like a radiator on the wall). The weird part was that I felt like I hit it really hard, but everyone said I didn't. The bruise didn't go away until two weeks later. When I got up and I had never felt so drained. I was too weak to move, so Jason carried me out of the room.

My Cousin Myra was so upset and scared about the whole thing that she started to cry. After I felt strong enough, I went back to the room, this time Mrya followed me. The moment I stepped into the room, it started happening again -- the shaking and the erratic breathing. My friends told me to leave the room when they saw what was happening. Because we were all shook up, we all stormed out of the room. Mary (a Wiccan) and John (a pagan) grabbed some candles (blue and white ones) and lit them. We all ended up sleeping in the den that night.

The next night was even stranger, we all decided to go out and this time. Another person, Josh (we told him what happened the previous night) was with us. We took two cars Josh's and mine. We were all heading out to get something to eat and we ended up getting separated on the way back. We assumed that they were going to meet us at Mary's house so we headed there.

The moment we got to Mary's house we got a phone call. It was Jason telling us to go to John's place. The moment we got there Mrya was in tears. She told us that while Josh was driving, he felt like something was splashing water on his face and almost got into an accident because of it. Myra was shaking uncontrollably and couldn't stop.

Josh also told us he noticed that someone else was in the car with them. There were four people in the car instead of three. After hearing that, Mary, John, and I decided to go back on the Ouija and find out what was going on. Myra was begging me not to, but I told her that it had to be done. We all went back to Mary's place to converse with the Ouija board.

We found out that when we tell people what happened on the Ouija, strange things will start happening to them as well. We all made a pact that night not to tell anyone else. Then we all went our separate ways.

I have told this story to others as a warning, as I'm doing tonight. When I moved to Washington, I had thought those "evil entities" were left behind. I was wrong.

Shortly after I moved in to my apartment, I bought an Ouija board to play with some friends here but I dare not play it in my place nor keep it in my place. The moment I played on it strange things began to happen here as well. I played on the Ouija and was warned that the spirits from the past are coming back to haunt me.

I didn't think anything of it, but the moment that my furniture arrived, strange things began to happen again. One night my trash can was on fire. I went on the Ouija and asked it what caused the fire. It said a demon by the name of Beck was taunting me. I demanded it to leave but it wouldn't.

My Girlfriend at the time went out of town for 2 weeks and then things got really bad. At night a horrible rotten smell would be around my apartment. It wouldn't be all over the place, only at certain places. The smell was so bad at one place that I almost threw up.

So, I got on the board demanding this demon to leave, but I got a nice spirit instead. It said it would help me get rid of the demon and protect my home. I did a few spells that a Wiccan told me to do to get rid of it and with the help of the spirit, I banished the demon from my home.

To this day I have not touched an Ouija board. As added insurance, I pour sea salt and hang crucifixes where ever I stay.

As Steve ended the story, there was a load BOOM of thunder and lighting lite up the room. As everyone Jumped and some of the girls screamed, there came a knock at the door. When Schanke went to open the door, the power went out.

As the lighting flashed across the sky illuminating the figurer in the doorway, Schanke stepped back to let the person in....

TBC

Myra was lighting candle's when Schanke opened the door, surprised to see Nick walk in. Mrya giving Nick a hug exclaimed "your just in time. Steve has been telling us ghost stories when the power went out."

Nick look at Myra a slow smile spead across his face.

" Ghost stories you say? Well, I know a few of those myself! Tell me did I hear right that Steve said he was from Illinois?

Myra nodded, Nick continuing on,

"Has he told the story of Mary yet?"

Mrya looking baffled. Who's Mary?

Nick chuckling "your about find out, I'll tell this story. What's Halloween without your hitchhiking ghost story to end the night with!

Walking into the front room Nick looked at Steve talking to Nat, calling Steve's name.

Turning away from Nat, Steve looked up to see Nick standing in the room. Nick smiled at Nat then turned towards Steve.

"I hear your from Illinois? May I ask from what part your from?

Steve glaring at Nick told him.

" I'm from the Chicago suburbs, WillowSprings. Why?

Nick asking his next question,

"So you got your drivers license in IL, did you do the initiation?

A slow smile fromed on Steve's face as everything fell into place.

"Ah your asking about Mary, yes i've done the initiation. Never seen her but i have taken the drive nurmers times, also going to Bachlore's Grove too.

Our gusets are woundering what we are talking about. Would you like to tell the tale or should I?

Nick walking to the middel of the room." I would like to, if you dont mind?"

Steve giving Nick the floor. Walked over to sit with nat, putting his arm around her.

Nick seeing this turned away and started his Story.

"The story that im going to tell you tonight is about Resurrection Mary.

Mary is a vanishing hitchhiker. As one of the most chilling because, if true, she has brought ghosts in very close contact with mortals. More disconcerting still, the stories depict the spectres as looking, acting, and sounding very much like a living person – even physically interacting with the unsuspecting drivers who pick her up.

On Archer Avenue in Justice, a southern suburb of Chicago.

The story of Resurrection Mary is considered one of "the most famous ghosts in Chicagoland."

It all began on a cold winter night in 1934 when a young girl was killed in an auto accident while on her way home from the O. Henry Ballroom (now Willowbrook Ballroom) on Archer Avenue in Justice, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. Five years later, in 1939, a cab driver picks up a young girl in a white gown on Archer Avenue. She sits in the front seat and instructs him to drive north on Archer. After driving a short distance, she suddenly tells him to stop ... and simply vanishes from the cab.

The cab is stopped in front of Resurrection Cemetery, where the girl is buried. Her name was Mary and many believe that she may have been a young Polish girl named Mary Bregavy, although her exact identity is still unknown. The girl was buried in Resurrection Cemetery, dressed in her favorite gown and wearing the same dancing shoes she had worn on her final date.

According to a 1977 account, a woman had seen Mary locked inside the iron fence of the cemetery. The metal bars bore the imprints of her hands. You can still see them today when the gates are closed. If you ever decide to drive down Archer late at night start by the O. Henry Ballroom where its said that on certion nights when its closed you can see lights and hear muisc coming from the place, and you may just see Mary thumbing a ride.....

TBC

As Nat left the front room to get away from Nick, walking to the bathroom Nat went pass Jenny's bedroom. Stopping when she head the Nightcrawlers voice come through the door, leaning in to hear what he was saying. Nat didn't hear or feel Nick come up behind her.

"Good Evening gentle listeners, tonight's topic is Halloween or Samhain if you like, the night of the Dead.

For thousands of years people have been celebrating holidays and

festivals to honor the dead and their ancestors. It is in this vein that

we will address some of the Christian 'Halloween' myths and put

forth some facts on the Pagan celebrations in the past and present.

The ancient Celtic fire festival called 'Samhain' is the origin

of modern Halloween. This festival was the feast of the dead in Pagan times.

The Roman Catholic Church attempted to Christianize the pagan festival

of 'Samhain' (pronounced sow-in) by adopting November 1 as there All-Saints

Day or All-Hallows Day - a time to remember those that have passed away.

Samhain marks the pagan New Year's Eve. It is a time

spent celebrating death, fertility, and renewal. The autumn leaves,

cornstalks, apples, and nuts which are so much a part of the Halloween

season are reminders of the Druids' autumn festival in honor of the

harvest.

All Hallows Eve is the night to bring to life those who have passed. It

is Samhain, All Soul's Day, the Day of the Dead, Halloween. It is the

time to 'hallow,' to venerate the dead and in so doing, acknowledge

their energy which still flows through us. It is the time to be with our

ancestors, when the earth hovers in the twilight of decay. The window to

those who have already passed is open.

In Ireland, where Halloween began in my opinion, the first

jack-o'-lanterns weren't made of pumpkins. They were made out of

rutabagas, potatoes, turnips, or even beets. There is an 18th

century Irish 'legend' about a man named Stingy Jack who was too mean to

get into heaven and had played too many tricks on the devil to go to

hell. When he died, his sentence was to walk the earth, carrying a lantern made

out of a turnip with a burning coal inside. Stingy Jack is known as

'Jack of the Lantern,' or 'Jack-o'-lantern.' From this legend comes the

Irish tradition of placing jack-o'-lanterns made of turnips and other

vegetables in windows or by doors on Halloween. The jack-o'-lanterns are

meant to scare away Stingy Jack and any other malevolent spirits that

roam the earth on that night.

As for all those evil witches, vampires, ghosts that run from door to door, begging sweets, that too is based on myth. The Wiccan religion doesn't worship Satan, they wisely leave that to the mentally unbalanced.

So if it appears on October 31 that the wind sounds a little too

mournful as it whistles through the skeletal fingers of the bare trees,

it's only your imagination. And if the nip in the air seems to bear the

chilling touch of the grave on it, it's only fall foreshadowing the

arrival of winter. It has nothing to do with the ghosts and goblins that

a 'legend' has made.

Or does it? The lines are open........................................................

When Nat backed away from the door she bumped into someone turning around seeing Nick, his eyes were glowing and Nat could have sworn he was growling in his throat. Nat panicked and hobbling as fast as she could down the hall Nick came up put his arm around her waist wisperd in her ear " Nat we need to talk"..

TBC

"Nat we need to talk."... Nat heard him say as he moved the hair off her neck, kissing her neck he didn't realize when she pulled her arm back and hit him in the gut, Nick loosed his hold on Nat she pulled away. Turning around glaring at Nick

"Dam you, if you have something to say, then say it, because I'm in too much pain to stand here while you take your sweet ass time. Some of us are mortal you know. Better yet I don't want to know what you have to say, it would be the same line as always. That's all you know is one lie, after another."

Nick looked at Nat as her words stung him.

"I don't know what to say Nat, I'm sorry about last week, and I would do anything to make it up to you. You know that! Why are you so mad at me? Is it because of the fight between Steve and me? What is going on between you too anyway? Please tell me Nat."

Nat sighing deeply looked at Nick before going back to rejoin everyone,

"You really don't have a Klew do you? What is going on between Steve and me is non of you concern. You made thing's very clear to me on Saturday night, you can't have both Nick. I know where you were and what you did Saturday night, don't try to deny it Nick, I saw you with my own to eyes, with her! Oh and Nick I'm really sorry about the Caddy."

Walking back to the fount room Nick stopped Nat saying

"Nat, you didn't by chance have anything to do with, or know who trashed my Caddy do you?"

Nat turned back around, thinking fast to answer him

"What do you think? Do you think I could have done it? Do you think I saw it happen? You tell me Nick. I'll leave you with this thought. Enchanting as this evening has been, and as Shakespeare put it. By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes. Happy Halloween Nick."

Walking away Nat, turned the corner and ran into Schanke.....

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

We all know the drill. I don't own Forever Knight and am just borrowing the characters for a little while, and promise to put them back when I'm done. Well, maybe.I'm still not making any money on this so please dont sue i have no money.

Edge of a Broken Heart

LK Parks

Walking away Nat, turned the corner and ran into Schanke...

"Hey Nat you ok? You look a little tierd," looking over Nat's shoulder and seeing nick " maybe you should come back and sit down the ghost stories are getting nice and Spoookey now."

"That would be nice Schanke, but as you noticed I'm abit tierd and I think I should go home, it's late and I really need to rest my foot. I'm going to go say my good bye's it's been a lovely party thanks for having me here. "

"Well Nat I i'll give you a lift home we can finsh talking on the way."

"No Nick I came with Steve, and I'll Leave with Steve."

As Nat made her way down the hallway Schake, stepted in front of Nick, as Nick made to follow Nat. " Look Nick I dont know what you two were talking about, but you upset Nat. Just let her be."

Nick was speechless as he walked behind Schanke to the living room, seeing Steve putting on Nat's coat a low growel came from Nicks chest. As Steve and Nat left nick walked to the window to watch then get into Steve's car and drive off.

Outside of Nat's apartment Steve and Nat were sitting in the car talking about Schake's party.

"You know Nat I had a great time tonight, even the story show down with Nick was intreeting, I haven't had that much fun in a long time."

"I know what you mean Steve, it's been so long seince I'v felt like this. I feel alive agin for the longest time it's been all work and a few movie night's and one bad date that nearly killed me."

"Man oh Man that would put a damper on one's reason for not dateing much."

Nat starterd laughing looking at Steve," You sound like Schanke when you say that."

" Man that's scary, im only related to him though marriage it's contagius," fake sudders." Well at least I got you to laugh, here let's get you in to your apartment, you need rest and I want you to be tip top shape for this afternoon's outing."

"Oh, and what do you have planed for me, hmm?"

"You wil find out when we get there, it's a surprise, and dont panic Donny is the one who gave me the idea and info, so if you hate it blame him if you love it well then i take all credit."

Laughing Nat and Steve enter Nat's buliding unawere they were being watched from the rooftop across the street. 20 min later Steve leaves heading back to Schanke's house.

Inside Nat's apartment

"Well Syd, I had a great time tonight, I'm really starting to like Steve more and more as I spend time with him, I really want things to work out with him, I feel so alive i can walk on air, if my damm foot didn't hurt so much. I now wish Schanke had intoduced us years ago. I can't wait intill this afternoon for his surprise outing, oh Syd i feel like a teenager agin."

"I have one last thing to do before we go to bed little man."

"Meow", Puuurrrrrr.

"I know Nick well enough he will try to talk to me more tonight, and i dont want to talk with him so this should do the trick. Putting this note in the window, locking windows and door's turning off the ringer on phone, now we are ready to go to bed come on little man, sweet dreams await us tonight and a whole new day ahead of us once we wake."

Outside Nats apartment window around 1am, 2 figuers read the note taped to the window, giving each other knowing looks they fly off into the night.

Later on a lone figuer comes by to try and talk but as he reads the note pined to the window his anger just burns,thinking to himself "how dare she think she can dismiss me like this", as for the other man that thinks he can take what is his and get away with it, well he has another thing coming.

TBC


End file.
